One man told NBC 10 that moments after everyone was able to escape, the entire building burst into flames.

"Once the alarm sounded then I tried to run around and get people out. We thought it was a false alarm because it went off before. I actually grabbed the fire extinguisher and tried to run in there. But I was told not to, because the apartment was engulfed," one resident said.

The cause of the fire is not known. The Red Cross is helping the families find shelter.